Miami Football Scandal and the Biggest College Booster Fails of All Time

Nevin Shapiro has quickly become one of the most controversial and talked-about boosters in college football history.

But he is not alone.

Boosters have long wielded a significant amount of influence on their respective programs due to financial contributions and other benefits provided.

So, while the allegations of paying for meals, drinks, prostitutes and abortions paint a sordid picture, there are other boosters culpable in major college football scandals who approach Shapiro's level.

From Pullman, Wash. to Storrs, Conn., these guys use their financial standing to live vicariously through these athletes.

This list runs down several notable incidents and specific boosters who come close to approaching Shapiro's level of corruption.

10. Harold Simmons, Alabama

No list of corrupt incidents would be complete without being replete with tales of SEC corruption.

Here is yet another example.

The Tide had to serve a three-year probation and one-year postseason ban as a result of Simmons' wrongdoing in combination with some unrelated violations by Antonio Langham.

He reportedly paid 'Bama running back Gene Jelks and also provided a loan.

When Jelks went public, Simmons denied it all happened, claiming he payed Jelks for time worked at his company.

The NCAA didn't fall for it...

9. Big Red Sports and Imports, Oklahoma

J.D. Quinn's and Rhett Bomar's case was pretty recent, and is less salacious than some of the others on this list; nevertheless, here is the rundown.

The two apparently dreamed of doing what every college-age kid wants to do: get paid not to work.

And they did.

The news broke that Big Red Sports and Imports, a car dealership owned by an OU booster, paid both of them, even though they did not do the work for which they received compensation.

As this was a violation of NCAA rules, they were both dismissed from the team and vanished into the relative obscurity of FCS football (Bomar at Sam Houston State and Quinn at Montana).

It wasn't the first time something like this had happened at an FBS school, nor would it be the last.

8. Logan Young, Alabama

What is it with these guys?

Young was responsible for paying high school coach Lynn Lang $150,000 to secure the commitment of Albert Means to Alabama.

Unfortunately for Young, he ended up being convicted in federal court of his crimes, including racketeering and crossing state lines to commit racketeering. He was sentenced to six months in jail and lost his luxury box at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Pretty hefty price for one defensive line recruit—especially when Means spent only four games at Alabama before bolting to Memphis.

7. Robert G. Burton, UConn

In a rather recent incident, a booster asked that his donation to the university be refunded.

Burton gave UConn $3 million to help build an on-campus football complex. UConn then proceeded to do the unthinkable, hiring Paul Pasqualoni in the offseason to replace the departed Randy Edsall without first consulting Burton.

Burton reportedly wrote a letter to UConn AD Jeff Hathaway, asking for his money to be returned and forbidding the university from using his name on the building.

That's right, he asked for his money back because he had no say in the hiring process.

UConn and Burton have since reconciled, and Hathaway has retired.

That's not suspicious at all.

6. Billy Joe Hobert, Washington

Remember Hobert? He led the Huskies to the national title back in 1991—but there was that little matter of some loans totaling around $50,000 that he received.

Turns out the NCAA is not a big fan of its players receiving that type of money when they have no collateral.

Be that as it may, Hobert, since that time, has received multiple death threats and other ridiculous hate mail as a result of the aftershocks that took place within the Washington program.

Head coach Don James resigned, and the school was put on a two-year probation.

While this was not entirely Hobert's fault, nor did it have anything to do with the guy who gave him the "loan," Billy Joe was the easiest available target to associate with the scandal.

5. Bill Lambert, Oklahoma

The scandal at Oklahoma was one of epic proportions.

Barry Switzer had no control over the program, and he eventually resigned in disgrace.

One of the men at the center of the brouhaha was Lambert.

In 1988, the NCAA reportedly asked OU to stop associating so closely with Lambert, which should have been an indicator of his character at that point.

Lambert eventually admitted to "employing" nearly 150 OU players at his business.

The problem was they did little or no work and were paid for it.

Sooners' linebacker Kert Kaspar went to the NCAA, and the cover was blown off of a huge scandal that culminated with a sordid tale of drugs, benefits and even an attempted murder in a Sports Illustrated report.

"Those who ignore the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them."

4. Luther Campbell, Miami

Nevin Shapiro is not the first sleazy booster to rear his ugly head at the "U."

Although the definition of "booster" must be stretched slightly to cover Campbell, the allegations against him were pretty intense.

He supposedly placed bounties on opposing players, made payments of cash to players and tried to go public with a scandal if his quarterback of choice was not named as the Canes' starter.

"Uncle Luke," who has spent his musical career rapping some pretty shocking lyrics, reportedly does not enjoy being associated with Shapiro.

Too bad...

3. Ed Hansen, Washington

It's as if the money inflates their egos to the point where they feel as if they are above the law or any sense of decency.

Sometimes their improprieties catch up with them in a way that makes one think, "Ah, poetic justice."

Hansen was a prominent Washington booster who wanted coach Tyrone Willingham and athletic director Todd Turner fired. Hansen is reported to have offered $200,000 in law school scholarships if the Huskies would let Willingham and Turner go.

Both men were retained.

Turner resigned shortly after these events were alleged to have taken place, and Willingham followed at the end of the following football season.

Much of the information came to light through emails sent to the man who was Washington's president at the time: Mark Emmert, the current head of the NCAA.

2. "Corky" Frost, Auburn

The scandal surrounding head coach Pat Dye, Eric Ramsey and Frost has been well-documented.

Frost and Dye offered Ramsey money, Ramsey tried to collect and, in the process, recorded his meeting with Frost before releasing some of the tapes to 60 Minutes.

According to a Sports Illustrated report in 1991, Ramsey was offered steaks, as well as the money.

Dye was eventually forced to resign, but was found innocent of wrongdoing, which makes perfect sense—if you are the NCAA.

Ramsey and his wife both wore bulletproof vests to commencement exercises when he graduated.

1. Sherwood Blount, SMU

This one has also been well-documented, discussed and rehashed almost to the point of ridiculousness.

SMU received the "death penalty" for repeated infractions during the 1970s and 1980s.

Blount was a real-estate developer from Dallas during that time and was responsible for the "slush fund," which reportedly payed SMU players something in the neighborhood of $61,000 in 1985-1986.

Blount is not solely responsible for an incident of such massive proportions, but his involvement was a big part of it. To this date, SMU is still trying to recover from being the only program to ever receive such a harsh penalty.